Ok, so I realize we are exactly two days away from Thanksgiving, a month away from Christmas and New Year’s Eve is a few days afterwards, and folks are a bit anxious; actually y’all are trippin’! (Yes I said y’all and I will probably be using incorrect grammar throughout this post because I need you to pay close attention ) Y’all aren’t anxious about the money that will be spent on gifts or all the hustle and bustle that goes into the holidays. The aniexty has to do with the fact you know that you are going to gain weight over the holidays. I have heard this from several people already. I'm thinking to myself, "how do they know already"? Psychic?

First of all, how you gon’ (see there it is), but seriously, how you gon' plan to gain weight? With that mindset, you will gain like 30lbs! We will not go into this season with that defeatist attitude! Besties, we can’t give up the fight before we start. We are not going to end this year like that, no ma’am or sir! We need to set some boundaries and put an action plan in place so that we stay on track with our fitness goals. We will resist the urge to eat every dessert, every carb loaded, cheese infused dish over the holidays.

Common concerns and misconceptions:

1) Holiday season is going to jack my diet up... First of all, the "holiday season" is technically only three days. Spanning over a few weeks. Let’s review, there is Thanksgiving day, Christmas day and New Year’s Eve, THREE days! Treat these weeks like any other week.

Solution: Follow your usual diet, monitoring your carbs, fat and protein intake. You are allowed 1 or 2 “relaxed meals” (cheat meals) a week. So you can enjoy a meal with the family and eat leftovers for one meal the following day!

2) I'll get back in the gym after the holidays... First of all, how you gon’ stop going to the gym and still eat any and everything? For real? You cannot do both boo - boo!

Solution: During this time of festive indulgence, increase your physical activity to combat all the calories and fat you plan on consuming. Incorporate workout days, even if you are traveling for the holidays. I usually go home for 10 days, I’m in the gym six out of those ten days. If you happen to be in Chicago for Christmas, join me for an indoor cycling class at CycMode.

IG: CyCMODE

3) My family and friends make all these delicious dishes for me… First of all, how you gon’ let them throw you off your game? Stop blaming others. Nobody told you to eat 3 pieces of Pattie’s sweet potato pie in one sitting!

Solution: Take a bite or two of the delectable dish, to soothe your cravings and walk away! Be mindful of what you are eating. There are some really cool fitness trackers that can help monitor your food intake. When you track what you eat, you are less likely to over indulge. MY FITNESS PAL is a user friendly app to help with tracking meals.

So Besties, there are no excuses! We can still enjoy the holiday season, however, it will not get the best of us. We made a pact during the summer to stay fit all year around! So let's stick to it!

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